Printing process



Patented June22, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 2.322.445 ramrmc r'aocsss Walter Huber. Mount Kisco, N. Y., assignor to J. M. Huber, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation 'of .New Jersey No Drawing. Application April 24, 1941,

Serial No. 390,109

g 6 Claims. (cl. 101-426) The present invention relates to a new method l of commercial printing by which to obtain new printing effects and other advantageous results. The method of this invention has many applications, but is particularly effective for large volume high speed printing, by gravure, letterpress or off-set, of containers, publications and literature of all sorts.

This application isa continuation-in-part of my co-pending application, Serial No. 161,579, filed August 30, 1937. r i

It is an object of my invention to provide new and efllcient printing methods or processes which make use of a new type of printing. ink and which rapidly produce printed matter in the form of thin, non-tacky films securely adhering to the surface of suitable stock. Another object of my invention is,to provide a method of obtaining new printing efiects,.and to secure other advantages which will be mentioned in or apparent from the following description.

It is well known in the art that commercial These inks, therefore, require the application of considerable heat after printing to evaporate the solvents sufllciently rapidly to produce a dry print.

News inks consist of pigment dispersed in nondrying mineral oils, sometimes bodied with resins or vegetable oils. They penetrate into the interstices of porous news stock by capillary attraction, thereby fixing the pigment onto the fibres. Because these inks never actually become solid,

' they have a tendency to smear. The side of the paper first printed is, therefore, always marred press inks, at present in. use, rely on evaporation of the solvent or carrier. This evaporation is usually hastened by the application of heat after printing.

Gravure inks consist of pigment resinous binder, and volatile solvents, such as xylol, toluol, and benzol, and diluents, such as naphthas. They are highly inflammable and a have a tendency to settle out on standing. They must be thinned with additional soiventto adjust drying speed ,and consistency for printing,v resulting in extra work and non-uniformity.. The use of cheap diluents frequently causes mottling of solids and loss of detail in fine prints. The expelled solvents are detrimental to health and present a dangerous fire hazard. Since only approximately 50% of the ink deposited on the paper remains there after the volatiles have been expelled, these inks are necessarily low in pigment and binder concentration. The non-r lubricating qualities of thesolvents cause excessive wear of printing surfaces andedoctor blades. v V

The quick-drying letter-press inks also consist of pigment, binder, and solvent, but the solvents in these inks possess high boiling points.

and/or polymerization of the vehicle.

by the printing of thereverse side, and "first impression" printing is recognized as inferior to "second impression printing, and is a constant source of trouble to printers. Both sides are. subject to marring in passing over angle bars and folders, and are apt to soil hands and clothes of readers. For high speed presses these inks must be thin in consistency and, therefore, sometimes have a tendency to settle. The process of this invention further has the object of producing printed matter with ink that resists transfer or ofi-set under ordinary or moderate heat and pressure, and consequently first impression is not marred by the printing of the reverse side as above indicated.

Present commercial inks for all uses except those described above are often first fixed by penetration but ultimately dry by oxidation These inks consist of pigment dispersed in polymerized drying oils, such as linseed or China wood oil, with addition of metallic soaps to facilitate drying. The drying speed of these inks must be delicately adjusted so that they will not dry on the press, but as soon thereafter as possible. In

multicolor printing, where one ink is superimposed on the'other, the first ink must stillpossess tack'when the second color is applied, as an ink will not trap on a "bone dry" print. Since climatic changes in the pressroom affect the. speed of oxidation, adjustments in the ink must frequently be made in the pressroom to obtain the required drying speed. Prints made with Presses must,

The methods of the present invention utilize inks which do not dry by oxidation or polymerization, evaporation, or absorption, and they eliminate many of the disadvantages of processes utilizing the previously described inks. Instead of employing an ink which is fluid at ordinary room temperature and which is dried by any one 'of the methods above enumerated, the present invention uses an ink which is naturally solid or hard at ordinary temperatures. Such an ink is applied at a somewhat elevated temperature, at, which the ink is melted and has a workable consistency suitable for making the impression; When the stock has been printed and the molten ink leaves the printing surfaces, the ink immediately cools to atemperature at which it solidifies and hardens.

Briefly described, therefore, the invention herein claimed comprises a process of printing, by means of a suitably heated letter-press, litho, and/or gravure printing machine, which avails itself of the characteristics of normally solid printing inks consisting of pigments and/or dyes dispersed in substantially solvent-free solids that will melt to printing consistency at elevated temperatures. Such an ink .is heated to an elevated temperature at which it is molten and possesses a suitable printing consistency, and it is r then printed from a suitably heated printing form onto paper or other relatively cold stock in films so" thin that the print sets, by freezing, almost instantaneously upon leaving the printing surfaces. It has been found that when such thin film of molten ink are printed onto ordinary' paper stock, supplied at normal temperatures or at other temperatures well below the meltingpoint of the ink, the stock possesses a sumcient heat absorbing capacity to set the print before any substantial penetration thereof into the fibres of the paper. In this way new printing effects may be obtained which are distinctly superior to those obtained with the known printing Processes referred-to hereinabove. "The printed product is especially superior when printing on fibrous. porous or uncoated paper stocks, such as newsprint or thelike, by reason of the clarity and sharpness of outline of the printed ink films and their characteristic of lying almost wholly on the surface of the paper without penetration into the fibres or, interstices thereof.

Broadly speaking, the inks to beg employed in the practice of my invention may comprise, in.

addition to pigments or other coloring material. fusible solids of somewhat gsolidification point together with other ma rials which will tend toward proper viscosity d [printing qualities in the fused ink and a ta le degree of hardness or solidity in the ink at dinary temperatures. Thecompositions c the inks used in the practice of this invention; may vary from very simple formula to those which are more complex. The following example the composition of a very simple ink of the kind described:

Example 1 v g 'Parts Carbon blaclL 10 Gilsoni -15 Candelilla wa 1 45 The wax is first melted and the carbon black may be thoroughly incorporated into the wax by use of suitable mixing and milling equipment, after which the gilsonite may be added in a steam jacketed mixer.

- satisfactory.

' A more complex composition is illustrated by the following example:

Blends of candelilla wax and gilsonite have the property of wetting and adhering to the fiber of the stock, of changing viscosity gradually above their melting point, passing through stages where the length and tack of the blend produce a suitable printing consistency, and of having so little surface tension that apparently they tend to flow out in a flat pool rather than cohering in a droplet, as does water on a waxy surface. These properties play an important part in providing the desired qualities of inks prepared according to the present invention. When solidified at normal temperatures, the surface of a print made from an ink consisting predominantly of these materials is dry and hard.

I have found that certain waxes, resins, pitches and equivalent substances have these properties in degree sufliciently pronounced to adapt them for use in accordance with the principles of the invention. Inks such as claimed inmy aforesaid co-pending application generally are suitable, which consist of coloring pigments incorporated in solid thermo-fluid vehicles which contain-not less than about 40%, by weight, of hard thermoplastic resin'together with a minor proportion of hard wax or wax-like material. While neither resin nor wax, alone, possesses the requisite physical properties and consistency when molten for use as the ink vehicle, inks which utilize a combination of their properties have been found The following is an example of such anink having a synthetic resin incorporated therein:

Example 3 Parts Synthetic petroleum resin (Santo Resin) Ozokerite nu 20 Peacock blue 20 (Santo Resin is an isobutylene polymer which melts completely at a temperature of about 104 C. It is available from the Monsanto Chemical Company.)

The ink of Example 1 softens at about 64 C. The viscosity change at this temperature is very gradual. At C. it has an ideal printing consistency.

The ink of the third example reacts similarly to the ink in Example 1, but the body of Example 3 is light colored, which permits the use of colors without affecting their brilliancy to any extent.

An example of an ink particularly suitable for the printing of magazines and the like by rotary letter-press is as follows:

sun another example, which is suitable for high speed newspaper printing on heated letterpress machines, printing porous newsprint on both sides according to my invention, is as fol- Example Parts Cumar V resin j 28 Gilsonite resi 21 Hydrogenated soya bean oil (a wax substitute) 40.5

Carnauba w u 10.5 Carbon black 11.6

The ink of Example 4 begins to melt at about 78C. and'is liquid at about 85 C. I It has a suitable printing consistency at about 100 C.

The ink of Example 5 melts at temperatures of about '12- C. and possesses a very low viscosity and other qualities suitable for high speed newspaper printing at temperatures above 100 C.

The processes of this inventionare capable of being carried out by the use of various types of printing members,- including plates made by the etching processes that are used by the commercial printers. In gravure printing pursuant here to, the etched plates do not require deeply etched cells; in fact, it may b desirable in gravure printing to use etchings shallowerthan customary. In carrying out the present processes,-

upper limit.

. The inks used according to the present invention in general have melting points below the temperatures at which the stock printed' upon will be injured, or at which the. copper, zinc.

lost but can -be reclaimed readily.

lead or alloy printing plates soften, or at which rubber or composition inking rollers of the printing press will be deleteriously affected. Other trate deeply in the fused state through the fibers of paper stock, but rather must be of a type that will adhere readily to the surface thereof with a minimum of penetration into the fibers;

Most of the inks used in the practice of my invention have had melting points lying between and 90 C., but I do not wish to limit my invention to these temperatures, as it is convent off-setting.

It will be understood that numerous advantages, including the following. can be obtained in the practice of the invention herein disclosed.

The ink may be made non-inflammable, nontoxic, and odorless; it will print solids smoothly; it can be made with a high pigment concentration so that when applied in an exceedingly thin film it will produce sharper detail and give greater coverage, colorintensity, and brilliance; it has excellent lubricating qualities. It can be made to resist the chemical action of acid, alkaliesj. alcohol, etc., on the pigment due to.the pro tection ai'iforded by the solid dispersing medium. It does not spread and, therefore. prints sharply. has practically no strike-through and, due to its instantaneous drying, eliminates many troubles due to oil-set -or smudging and eliminates the necessity of resortingto off-set webs and slipsheeting with all of their disadvantages. The print can be used or backed up immediately as it is completely dry immediately after being printed. It does not liver, skin, settle, or change with age, nor is it affected by climatic changes in the pressroom. Since no chemical change takes place in my ink from the liquid tothe'd 'y stage. ink that has solidified on the pres is not My ink can be produced at moderate cost. can be packed and shipped economically and handied easily, will not leak out of containers, and is unafiected by transit, age or'climate.

For the purpose of applying this ink-,' the 'press .is equipped with suitable heating means to mainsmoother surface before solidifying. It may also be desirable to equip the press with a suitable printing or in perfection or multi-color printing.

according to, my invention, however, it is usually desirable to chill the print after each impression,

ceivable that inks of higher or lower melting I points will react in accordance with the principles of my invention and may prove advantageous for certain properties and uses. Finished prints made with inks such as above described, when subjected for periods as long as 18 hours-to temperatures up to 82 0., remained unaifected. It is. therefore, not necmsary to have the melting point higher than the highest temperature to which the finished print may be exposed in order to prevent deterioration of the print. Thus it is possible to make my type of ink with a melting point low enough to permit using it in the fused state without injury to delicate pigments, and still get the necessary solidifying properties on per. In my experience I have also found it advantageous to use pigments ground or flushed in as by means of a water-cooled roller or the like thereby increasing the hardness and mar-resistance of the print. Such modifications of standard equipment will be readily visualized by persons skilled in the art, having in mind the characteristics oi? the particular ink desired to be used. It will be understood, however, that the paper or other stock, when ready to be printed. should always be cool enough to have a heat absorbing capacity suflicient to-cause substantially instantaneous setting of the thin molten ink films printed thereon.

It will be noted that an important feature f the process of the invention lies in the fact that the temperature of the printing operation may be controlled to obtain the printing characteristics desired in the ink. The consistency and other printing qualities of the ink rest solely in temperature control, which renders one ink suit- I claim: I v 1. Process of printing by gravure or off-set consisting in providing an ink that is solid at printing room temperatures, heating said ink until it fuses to a=workable consistency for printoccurs by absorption of heat from the ink films into the stock.

4. The process of producing printed publications, containers and other printed matter which ing, feeding said fused ink to suitable printing surfaces, and impressing thin films of the fused ink from said surfaces onto stockhaving sufiicient heat absorbing capacity substantially in stantanecusly to freeze and set said thin films in adherence to the surface of the stock, so that the print thereby formed dries by solidification instantaneously on leaving the printing surfaces.

2. Process of perfection printing which comprises effecting each of the successive impressions by providing an ink which is solid and unworkable at temperatures below 50 C., heating said ink to such temperature above 50 C. as to melt it to a workable consistency for printing, feeding said fused ink to a suitable gravure or oiT-set printing form and impressing thin films of the fused ink from said form onto stock having sufficient heat absorbing capacity substantially instantaneously to freeze and set said thin films in adherence to the surface of the stock, so that the print thereby formed dries by solidification instantaneously on leaving the printing surfaces.

3. The process of producing printed publications, containers and other literature which comprises printing at an elevated temperature onto relatively cold stock, by means of a suitably heated gravure or ofi-set printing machine, thin molten films of a normally solid printing ink comprising coloring pigment incorporated in a thermo-fluid vehicle that is solid at ordinary temperatures and non-volatile at both ordinary and elevated temperatures, and substantially instantaneously. setting the ink films so printed, by freezing thereof when printed. in adherence to and substantially entirely on thesurface of the stock, the heat absorbing capacity of said stock and the mass and temperature of said thin ink films being in such relationship that said setting comprises providing and melting a normally solid thermo-fiuid printing ink, applying the same in thin molten films to the printing elements of a and other printed matter by gravure printing which comprises providing a normally solid thermo-fluid ink, heating said ink until itmelts to a consistency suitable for such printing, ap-

plying said molten ink to a heated gravure printing form, supplying to said form relatively cold stock having suflicient heat absorbing capacity substantially instantaneously to set thin films of said ink when printed thereon, and printing said ink from said form onto said stock in films so thin that the print thereby formed sets by meeting substantially instantaneously upon leaving the printing 'form.

6. Process of producing printed publications and other printed matter by gravure printing which comprises providing a normally solid thermo-fiuid printing ink, heating said ink untfl it melts and attains a fluid consistency suitable for such printing, applying said molten ink to a suitable heatedgravure printing form, and printing said molten ink from the recesses of said form, in films less than .002 to .003 inch thick, onto paper stock at a normal temperature.

WALTER HUBER. 

